What should have been a pleasant among three girlfriends enjoying a drink at a nightclub in South Yarra, turned into a nightmare when two of them started feeling unaccountably dizzy and disorientated after two drinks and matters just got worse.
The fortunate thing in the incident was that one of the young women in the group was unaffected and was able to call for help and stay close to her friends until it came. It is not a nice thing to think of what could have happened to the two friends had she not stayed.
Kalli Horomidis, whose 21-year-old daughter was one of the victims of a spiked drink from the venue received the call from the friend and arrived to collect her daughter. The other friend had gone back to her flat.
“I collected her from the Chapel Street, and she was vomiting in the car. I had never seen her in such a state before. She asked me for water, and I stopped at a popular take away. By the time I got back to the car with the water, I saw her eyes were rolled up and she had passed out,” Ms Horomidis told Neos Kosmos.
Ms Horomidis called Emergency Services and drove her daughter to the Red Cross Hospital.
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“She was unresponsive, and I was very scared. The medics came to the car when I got there. They put her in the back of an ambulance and checked all her vital signs.”
Both the paramedics in the ambulance and the nurses at the hospital told Ms Horomidis that they suspected her daughter’s drink had been spiked. They found traces of the “date rape” drug GHB and the tranquiliser ketamine – used by doctors and vets.
“About two hours later, my daughter was better, she woke up and we walked out. She has no memory of me coming to pick her up.
“The scary thing is that her friend not been there to look after her, she could have been raped or murdered.”
While Ms Horomidis reported the matter to the police, she did not press charges. Instead, she has made the incident public in the hope that something is done to curtail the problem which is largely under-reported.
The shocking fact is that there had been other spiking incidents at the same venue that night.
The ambulance and nurses had advised Ms Horomidis against making a formal report to police as not much would be done about it.
“The police assured the matter would be treated seriously and took down details, but they said they had no proof that the drugs were taken at the bar or that the girls could have taken the drugs themselves,” said Ms Horimidis.
One paramedic had suggested that the drugs were either in the drinks or in the ice.
Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said on ABC Melbourne radio that the incident sounded “absolutely traumatic” and called on the public to report drink spiking incidents to the police.
“I would absolutely urge anyone who’s been a victim of this kind of offending to come in and we will treat them with absolute confidentiality, we will be supportive, and we will do our job,” he said.
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A Victoria Police spokesperson told Neos Kosmos that drink spiking was a serious crime that caused the victims “much distress and harm”.
“However, we acknowledge we don’t receive many official reports. Looking at the crime statistics over the past five years, there have been 16 reported offences between 2016 and 2020.
“We know these numbers do not reflect the actual situation and there are many more instances not reported to police.
The spokesperson said it was important for patrons to ensure that they were watching as their drinks were being opened or poured into their glasses. She added that it was also important not to leave drinks unattended in venues.
“We also encourage people to look out for their friends. If you suspect your drink has been spiked or if you are a victim of assault, please seek immediate medical attention by calling Triple Zero (000) and report the matter to police. It is important to act quickly and have someone you trust take you to a safe place, if you are on your own then contact bar staff for assistance.”
Ms Horomidis said that her greatest concern was that venue owners often kicked out patrons out of the venue who they considered were acting drunk but whose drinks could have been spiked. She said she particularly feared for young women who did not have friends with them.
“It happened to me when I was 27. I was in a quiet bar with friends. I was drooling saliva and I was in and out of consciousness. When this happens, you need to have your friends look out for you.
“Clubs must also look after their patrons and make sure that they are safe.”
“This is a huge and concerning issue and parents are not properly aware of it,” said Ms Horomidis.
